SYNOPSICS
La morte vivante (1982) is a French,English movie. Jean Rollin has directed this movie. Marina Pierro,Françoise Blanchard,Mike Marshall,Carina Barone are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1982. La morte vivante (1982) is considered one of the best Horror movie in India and around the world.
Abruptly, the eternal slumber of the once vital 20-year-old Catherine Valmont is disturbed when a violent tremor shakes her damp and sombre underground crypt in the very foundation of her once vibrant French château. Now that the much lamented, delicate and oblivious Catherine is enticed to dwell in the world of the living tethered to the place she used to live, summoning pale memories of her beloved blood-sister Hélène remains her only link to this earth except for that vague, yet overwhelming rabid desire for innocent fragrant blood. Sooner or later, the dumbfounded Hélène will encounter once again her solitary dark sister who is longing for her in silence, nevertheless, is the cryptic Catherine the person she once knew or has she become a grim and soulless monster?
La morte vivante (1982) Reviews
Requires viewer patience and forgiveness
I hate to admit it, but I like the idea of Jean Rollin more than the reality of sitting through one of his films. It's not that I don't appreciate what he's doing. I do. He has a unique world view and holds a special place in the world of "fantastique" cinema that is indisputable. Still, I find his films a little boring. Case in point THE LIVING DEAD GIRL springs from a simple and fascinating concept of a dead woman, who must drink blood to survive, returning to a château to be with an old friend. As fascinating as the concept is, Rollin doesn't do a whole lot with it. He serves up plenty of atmosphere, imbues his material with a subtle eroticism and draws a superb performance from the beautiful Francoise Blanchard. What else do you want? you may ask. I'm not sure. I wanted more to happen, I guess. I wanted Rollin to jettison the boring bits and replace them with his signature set pieces. It's been described as "savage", an adjective I wouldn't use myself. It's also been described as "dreamy". For the most part that's true. My frustration is with the film's uneven tone. Why couldn't it remain "dreamy" right through? You do need patience and a little forgiveness to enjoy Rollin. I still wouldn't miss anything he's done. He's one of us.
Excellent erotic shocker.
Jean Rollin's "La Morte Vivante"/"The Living Dead Girl" is an excellent erotic ultra-gory vampire tale and I like it very much.The film has some wonderful atmosphere and some striking images of eternal painful life.There is plenty of graphic gore to satisfy fans of extreme horror.Along with all of the gore there is a large amount of beautiful naked women running around.Rollin's trademark photography is naturally here but this film is much gorier than his other films that I've seen.Francoise Blanchard who plays bloodthirsty Catherine is incredibly beautiful.Overall,I enjoyed this film and you should too if you like zombie/vampire cinema.There is also an unofficial sequel to this one called "The Revenge of the Living Dead Girls"(1987).
Living Dead Girl
Grisly, potent shocker from Jean Rollin regarding how a dead young lady of two years, the body surprisingly fresh without rot during that time(?), is revived from a spilled can of toxic waste, put there by some corpse looters, after a minor earthquake. She has vampire mentalities(..not to mention terrifying fingernails which can tear into flesh with ease) meaning this uncontrollable thirst for flesh and blood from human beings..the girl, Catherine(Françoise Blanchard), calls the evil inside. A "blood sister", Helene(Marina Pierro)did not know her best friend from childhood had been dead and after a phone call leading to Catherine's discovery(hearing the sound box playing music both listened to as children)she races to the villa to see about her. What Helene sees is a bloody mess, several unfortunates who became blood donors to Catherine's unhinged feeding time. Helene will slowly grow obsessed with keeping her beloved "sister" alive doing whatever it takes, meaning luring those unaware of what awaits them, to become victims for Catherine. A photographer, Barbara(Carina Barone)sees Catherine walking in a daze upon leaving her crypt and takes a snapshot. That snapshot fascinates her..the image that compels her to seek out the identity of Catherine might seal her fate. Perhaps, Barbara's husband(Mike Marshall)will be able to keep her from harm before it's too late. Or, will Barbara's obsession with learning more about Catherine, and taking more pictures of her, lead to a gruesome demise. What the people around this villa need to worry about is Helene's mad desire to find fresh bodies for her Catherine. The most important story element, and what I feel is the most haunting aspect, is that as days go by Catherine is realizing the monster she becomes when the evil hunger returns. She wishes to be put away and begs for Helene to see this through. The idea of losing her friend a second time, and not being able to come to terms with the fact that Catherine is dead, I think Helene is the tragic character of the film. Friendship and love seem to be very powerful emotional drives within this plot while Rollin often cuts into this with a furious rage when he shows Catherine's eating habits. She just doesn't suck blood with any form of sophistication, but tears into her meal like a crazed, starving animal. And, believe me, the feasting is extremely unsettling as we watch the flesh of throats, arms, and stomachs ripped with vengeance by Catherine who seems out of control with her senses with the primal urge to munch operating in overdrive. The direction is rather straight-forward, I felt, and followed a projected path. It ended about the way I imagined it would. The ending leaves only despair for the victim who just wishes for the blood lust and torment to leave her.
One of Jean Rollin's best efforts
Two childhood friends Catherine & Helene make a pact to always be together. Catherine dies and they forced to split. A toxic spill manages to bring Catherine back from the dead, turning her into a monster. Catherine reunites with her to help Catherine with her insatiable need for blood. Leave it to Jean Rollin to turn a subject like zombies into something erotic and artsy. I liked this one. It's leisurely paced like most Rollin films, but it's very interesting. The bond between Catherine and Helene is very strong and you are able to feel like they truly love one another. There are dull moments. We get many shots of Catherine wandering the halls that may get tiresome for people, but they have meaning in this one. Watching Catherine reminisce over childhood photos of her and Helene was saddening and riveting with the way it was done. Also, the slow build of Catherine's insatiable hunger for blood was well done, giving Catherine a bit of a human side to her. There is great photography as well. This movie is pretty gory. We get extremely gory puncture throats that gush blood all over the place. A woman is burned alive, somebody gets a foreign object in their head, eyes are gouged out, and more. The best part is the ending. It's a tragic gore fest. I won't spoil it, but it is both saddening and enjoyable. The acting is pretty good for this sort of thing. Marina Pierro is great as the supporter of Catherine. The show belongs to the lovely Francoise Blanchard. She gave a memorable performance with her beauty. My only real complaint is the version I watched alternated between subtitles and English dubbing Final Thoughts: You probably won't find many better films of Rollins than this, if any. For a guy that is known for his boring eroticism, he made a gem with this one. It's tragic, interesting, and beautiful. I recommend it. This one actually has a decent story 7.2/10
A Rollin film with lots of added gore
This Jean Rollin feature is an erotic horror about a woman who returns from the dead due to an accident involving an earthquake and toxic chemicals. She is The Living Dead Girl and she has a vampire like taste for blood. She is drawn back to her 'blood sister' Helene, who in turn finds victims for her. This is another melancholic and downbeat effort from Rollin. Once again his vampire is a tragic one. She did not choose her fate. She feels guilt at her subsequent actions and is repulsed by them. We feel sorry for her. The film is also about friendship and loyalty. The bond between the two girls is effectively a pact that goes beyond the grave. One of the defining features of The Living Dead Girl is its goriness. It is very bloody by Rollin's standards, so in this respect it may be a little more accessible to a wider horror audience. But then again, aside from this, it's strictly business as usual. There are the usual selection of paper thin characters, weak dialogue and low production values; while the story emphasises things that are atypical for a standard horror film, such as a melancholic 'monster' and some poetic imagery. Examples of the latter would include scenes of the girl wandering through fields in a white night dress and the night time river scene. As usual Rollin does ensure the film looks interesting. There are some nice French countryside locations and a picturesque villa. While the atmosphere is moody throughout, with some delicate musical accompaniment on the soundtrack. It is a little odd though having an American couple in the movie. This, no doubt was a way of trying to sell the film easier overseas. But like all other Rollin films these characters are uninteresting, Rollin seems to be only interested in his female vampires/villains. It isn't without faults; it does drag in places but like others from the director would probably improve on re-watches. The film does, however, wrap up in one of the most effectively haunting endings Rollin ever conceived.